- A train accident killed 10 people in West Bengal, a statutory inquiry has been ordered.
- Prima facie signal failure was the cause behind two trains being on one track.
- Operating a train requires coordination among multiple personnel, including station masters, section controllers, signal staff, and gatemen.
- During signal failures, trains operate under caution with specific procedures, including issuing a TA-912 notice and a ‘line clear’ ticket. Only one train should be in a block section at any given time.
- The anti-collision device Kavach was not installed on this route. Kavach could have slowed down the freight train automatically. Implementation of Kavach has been slow, with only 1,500 km equipped out of nearly 68,000 km of railway network.
- Human failure is a major cause of accidents.
- Committees have recommended creating an independent Railway Safety Authority to oversee operations.
- In the Analysis Report by High-Level Safety Review Committee (2017), a chief signal engineer noted in the report that only 3% of accidents in Indian Railways are due to “failure of equipment.”
Dig Deeper: Read about Anil Kakodkar committee recommendations to improve safety like the adoption of an Advanced Signalling System (akin to the European Train Control System) and Technology solutions for modernising the Railway in India.
